Valve and prosthetic knee joint having such a valve
AssigneeOttobock SE & Co. Kgaa
InventorHerman Boiten
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A valve with an inlet, an outlet that is connected to the inlet via a fluid connection, and a valve body, which can be brought by displacing it along a displacement direction into a first position, in which the fluid connection is blocked, and a second position, in which the fluid connection is open, wherein the inlet is designed and arranged in such a way that a fluid entering through the inlet exerts a total force on the valve body that at least also acts in a force direction which is perpendicular to the displacement direction when the valve body is in the first position.
Claims11
A prosthetic knee joint comprising:
- a hydraulic arrangement that comprises:
- an extension chamber;
- a flexion chamber;
- a valve comprising:
- an inlet;
- a first outlet that is connected to the inlet via a first fluid connection;
- a second outlet which is a throttle outlet;
- and
- a valve body configured to be displaced along a displacement direction into a first position and a second position, the valve body connecting the second outlet to the inlet via the valve body,
- wherein in the first position the first fluid connection between the inlet and the first outlet is blocked and a second fluid connection between the inlet and the second outlet through the valve body is open,
- wherein in the second position the first fluid connection between the inlet and the first outlet is open and the second fluid connection between the inlet and the second outlet is open,
- wherein the inlet is configured and arranged in such a way that a fluid entering through the inlet exerts a total force on the valve body that at least also acts in a force direction which is perpendicular to the displacement direction when the valve body is in the first position;
- wherein the inlet of the valve is connected to the flexion chamber and each of the first outlet and the second outlet of the valve is connected to the extension chamber.
A prosthetic knee joint comprising:
- an extension chamber;
- a flexion chamber;
- a valve comprising:
- an inlet by which fluid from the extension chamber enters the valve,
- a first outlet for fluid to leave the valve,
- a second outlet for fluid to leave the valve, wherein the second outlet is a throttle outlet, and
- a valve body configured to be displaced along a displacement direction into a first position and a second position;
- a first fluid pathway which extends from the inlet to the first outlet;
- a second fluid pathway which extends from the inlet to the second outlet;
- one or more fluid channels permitting fluid which leaves the first or second outlet to flow to the extension chamber;
- wherein the inlet is configured and arranged such that fluid entering through the inlet exerts a total force on the valve body that at least also acts in a force direction which is perpendicular to the displacement direction when the valve body is in the first position,
- wherein the first fluid pathway is (i) blocked when the valve body is in the first position and (ii) open when the valve body is in the second position, and
- wherein the second fluid pathway is open regardless of whether the valve body is in the first position or the second position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.